One And Only
by Glamagirl
Summary: He wanted to reach to her; the only problem was that he didn't know how. Meanwhile, she was keeping her reasons for staying away hidden from him, thinking that he would never understand.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this story :(**

**A/N: **This is a re-write story, I kind of want to continue with it so let me know what you think**. **P.S. For Ainat, feel better ;)

**One And Only**

He has been watching her… he had always been watching her.

It wasn't like he could help it; at this point of his life his eyes would follow her as if they had a life of their own, as if an alien entity that wanted nothing but to torture his already shattered soul had taken control of his body the moment they first meet just to force his eyes to follow her.

It wasn't in him and he had no choice but to watch.

By now his clear blue orbs were trained in the arts of her, they knew when she was near and as soon as they picked up her approaching presence they would dart to her, drinking in her silhouette as she walked by.

It was a routine now, a way of life taken by circumstances that shouldn't have been. He was, he sensed and he watched; then, before he could do anything else she was gone.

She was always gone.

Dragging his fingers through his short hair, Ted forced his eyes to move away from the empty corridor she disappeared into, focusing on the wall in front of him instead, the blank, plain wall…

If truth be told, he would say that he was tired of that compulsive routine; he was tired of being the weak one, the one that always watched while she was the one who moved on, the one who kept walking as he watched.

And as much as he had tried he couldn't stop himself from doing it; he was always in the same predicament, watching as she kept going, always one step behind of her when he wanted to be one step ahead.

He wanted to be where he once was, he wanted to be his old self instead of the empty shell he was now, a carcass of a man that did nothing but watch.

So very deep into his thoughts he has been that when he realized that he was up to his feet and walking in the direction she had gone into he was a bit puzzled; but it seemed that as much as he didn't have control of his eyes he didn't have control of his legs either.

There was nothing to do, he was drawn to her; even if she had no idea her body magnetized his every cell, calling him, luring him after her.

A prisoner of his own body he had no choice on the matter, so he allowed his determined legs to carry him closer to her. In that manner, silent as a shadow he followed her, guarding his distance and watching as her graceful movements lead her towards the room that served as the Divas locker room.

While his legs moved him forward, he tilted his head a bit to the side, noticing that the reason she was unaware of everything around her was because she was engrossed with her phone, it seemed like she was texting and that gave him the opportunity to follow her without her knowledge.

It gave him the opportunity to drink from her appearance even when her back was to him. That night she had her down, cascading down her back in soft waves… and he would bet on anything that if he had the chance of running his fingers through the blonde locks he would find her hair soft and silky.

Her hips were also hypnotizing and he moved his eyes to them, watching them swing as she walked, the echo of her footsteps resonating through the corridor.

Maryse… he watched her, as he always did, but this time he did a bit more and he followed her, all the way through the corridor until she made it to her destination and closed the door, leaving him out.

As he stood there, lurking in one corner and contemplating the door he leered around, trying to spot if there was someone who could witness Ted Dibiase at his lowest, acting like a stalker… the line that kept him from being obsessive to pathetic blurring in his mind.

Luckily there was no one to see, just him and the knowledge that he had reached a low point in his life.

Taking a few steps and looking around to make sure no one was coming, he approached the door, his hand lifting to the door handle and turning it until it opened.

This too he did in silence, and it was only when he closed the door behind him that she turned around and noticed him.

"Ted? God you scared me." She said, taking a brief look at him before turning around to put her phone over a small vanity. To the third generation superstar she didn't seem scared; he didn't know what she looked like but it wasn't scared. "And what are you doing here?" She asked without turning, apparently taking more interest in investigating the contents of her purse.

Upon taking a look around and noticing that there was no one else in the room, Ted locked the door and took the steps that he needed to take to be closer; walking to her until he was right behind her. "I just wanted to see you." He said, plain and simple, fighting the urge to lift his hand and touch her hair.

But he didn't touch her, he just watched as her shoulders dropped and her head moved the sightless to the right, then she turned back to him. "We talked about this…"

"I know-" How could he forget? The conversation was like a broken disc inside his head that would go on repeat over and over again. It was enough to drive him crazy, especially when he knew every word of that conversation to be a mistake.

"Then why are you here?"

Ted bit on his lower lip, his eyes delving deep into hers. There was so much to say… he didn't even know where to start. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Ted…" She breathed out, closing her eyes as if not to lose her patience with him. "That was unprofessional and in case you forgot we are strictly professional, we work together and nothing more."

"Professional-" He snorted bitterly, pursing his lips and moving an inch closer to her. "How can you say that after all we've been through, or is it that you are the one forgetting things? I remember and I remember everything." He hissed.

At that, Maryse shook her head and opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling. "Don't do this now, Ted…"

"Don't do what? Because for the longest time I haven't done anything and I'm tired of it." He said placing both hands against the wall at each side of her. "I'm tired of watching you from afar."

Looking everywhere but to him, Maryse sighed; he didn't get why she looked so exasperated while he was feeling so desperate. "We agreed to this Ted, you even said it was for the best…"

"I was wrong." He said through clenched teeth, trying to control the feeling that was rising within him. He knew what he said, and ever since that night he has been regretting those words.

Yes he agreed to everything that was said, but to that day he didn't know why. Maybe it was because he was feeling guilty that he has been sleeping around with someone who wasn't his wife… and with one of the guys' girlfriend none the less.

Maybe he thought he could get over her; whatever it was he had been so wrong because forgetting her was impossible; time has proven to be the worse medicine.

"We were both wrong." He took her chin in his hands and forced her to look at him. In that position her face was barely below his, her eyes wild and shining into his.

"We made the right decision, you know it…"

"Are you happy with that decision? Because I'm not. I have to go by everyday watching you walk by, wanting to follow you, to notice me… and I've tried to fight it off for the longest time and I just can't."

At his words, Maryse just closed her eyes again, shaking her head as she did before. She didn't said anything so he kept on, spilling his heart out.

"I've been telling myself how this was for the best and sometimes I believe it was for the best, but then I see you and I know that there's no way I can control what I feel for you."

"Stop it, Ted." She said, her voice a soft whisper against his face.

At her words, Ted moved his hand from her chin to her cheek, enjoying the way her soft skin felt underneath his fingers. He had missed it, he had missed all of her.

While his hand remembered in touch he took a good look at her face and by the way she was chewing on her lips he could say that her walls were crumbling, thing that was good because he wanted them down.

"Why stop? I made that mistake before."

To that Maryse opened her turbulent hazel eyes to him. "I'm with Mike… I can't go through the same thing again, you know this Ted…"

"Then leave him."

Blinking, Maryse took a deep breath. Back to the time when they would sneak around to be in each other's arms he had never told her such a thing, he had hoped she would make that decision by her own but when weeks turned into months he just gave up that hope and he learned to live with the phantom of that other man behind his back. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

He once thought that he could never leave his wife until the day he found himself asking for a divorce… but then it has been too late, by then Maryse was no longer part of his life. "You don't love him, not like you love me."

"This is not about love…"

"Damn it, Maryse." Ted grunted, punching the wall behind her. At that the blonde flinched but didn't move away and he took a deep breath to calm himself. "This has everything to do with love! For Christ sake, I have tried to come up with a thousand reasons of why I need to forget you, I invented a million ways not think about you and you say this has nothing to do with love?"

"I think it's better if you leave."

At her request, Ted took a deep breath and moved away from her, just two steps away. He thought about it… it had always been like this, she was stubborn and that was going to be the end of her, just like it has been the end of him.

Sure; he could make it without her, he just needed to pick up the pieces and move on… it would only take him a little bit of time.

But no, he didn't want that, if she didn't want to leave Mike then he could still be with her, they did it once before and everything had been fine, they had been happy…

Maybe it was an illusion of happiness but it was more than what he had now.

"I love you and I won't stop loving you just because you insist of being with him." He took a deep breath. "And what's sad is that I'm even willing to take whatever you are willing to give me." He shook his head and dragged his hand down his face. He was truly pathetic; she had made him that way.

"I can't… give you anything."

He looked back at her, taking notice that she was just standing there, chewing on her lower lip harder than before and looking back at him almost expectantly. He took in her image for a few seconds.

So that was it… there was no more for him.

Nodding, he took a step toward the door, meaning to walk out. But then he halted, turned around and walked to her. He didn't give her time, he just went to her and when he was close enough he captured her lips with his.

She didn't fight it, as soon as the contact was made she wrapped an arm around his neck and granted him entrance pass her lips.

He took what she gave, deepening the kiss and drinking on the feeling that was kissing the woman he loved. It has been such a long time and wanted to savor every second, the taste of her, to take on the way her body molded to his.

This was the way it was supposed to be, just the two of them giving in to each other.

Taking on the opportunity, he moved one hand to her hair, burying his fingers though her silky strands, pulling her even more into him. She was like he remembered; maybe even better, she was everything that he ever wanted.

He could stay like this, kissing her forever but he also wanted to reach to her very core… so pulling away from the kiss he swallowed hard and watched her.

She was with her eyes closed and her face flushed; there had been so many times that he had seen that face. "As long as I know that you feel for me as I feel for you I won't walk away, as long as your body responds to mine like this I won't let go."

"We can't do this." She said, pressing her forehead against his.

He placed a finger against her lips. "Jesus, Maryse; why do you have to be so stubborn?" He asked pulling away. She was still with her eyes closed and when his hand brushed her hair off her face she took in a shaky breath. "I love you."

At his words, Maryse shook her head and pouted her lips, if she was going to say something it got lost when he brushed his lips to hers before fully kissing her once again.

In Ted's mind, they had made a mistake by ending things but he was going to fix it… a kiss was a start and by the way she was responding he could say that it was a good start to something that shouldn't have stopped in the first place.

He was no longer going to be content with just watching her, he wanted more.

"I love you," He mumbled once more against her lips before resuming the kiss. Yes, loved her, it has never been a matter of that as it hadn't been a matter of she loving him back.

He knew her heart, he was her heart and this time he was going to do everything in his power to get back to her; only that this time he wanted her all for himself…

"Leave him." He whispered in a plead.

Maryse wrapped both arms around him and pulled closer to him. For a moment that was all she did, cling to him as if her life depended on it; but then, lowering her hands to his sides she breathed into his scent and pressed her lips to his shoulder. "Someone could come in and see us here."

"I don't care." He said, trying to find a way he could reach to her and make her understand that he was the one for her and that she needed to go back to him.

"I do care. If Mike finds out he'll… I can't, Ted, I just can't." After saying that, she pulled away from him and without giving him a chance to say something, she left.

~*TBC?*~


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** First things first, I want to thank you for taking the time to read and review the first chapter, it really means a lot to me. Soooo, as for the story goes… after thinking and thinking about this, I decided to update this with an idea that has been dancing in my head for a while. Just don't hate me and I'll try to be good to you in the next chapter.

**CHAPTER 2**

Her hands were trembling; they were trembling so bad that as she walked aimlessly through the backstage corridors of the arena the WWE was going to perform that night, the shaking started to expand all over her body and before she could do anything to prevent it she was overcome with a bad case of the shivers.

It was awful; as a rule she hated feeling shaken up and she couldn't help but to think that if anyone happened to be looking her way in that precise moment, they would definitely think that she was a junkie going through a withdraw.

And seriously, in some weird kind of way that was how she was feeling, as if she was a recovering addict that has just been tempted by destiny with her biggest addiction and the effort of walking away from it was wearing her down.

"It's not fair… it really isn't." She mumbled to herself as kept walking forward. God, and to think that she has been doing so good up until a few minutes ago…

But now he came with his nice words and those kisses that always clouded her mind like no drug ever could and it was just too much; now she was emotionally distressed by the encounter she had with him and she needed to go outside and breathe in the fresh air of the night.

Yeah, that would calm her down and that's exactly where she needed to go, out.

Sucking in a deep-shaky breath, the WWE Diva lifted one of her trembling hands to her hair and in an attempt to sooth herself she began to run her manicured fingers through her blonde locks almost in a compulsive manner.

"Maryse… just wait a moment, okay?"

Upon listening to those words, the French-Canadian felt someone grabbing her by the arm then making her turn around in her heels.

It was Ted, she knew it was him since she heard him call her name in that sweet southern drawl of his and by the time she was facing him, her eyes were already closed.

"Ted, not now. Really…"

No, she didn't want to do this now if ever because she wasn't feeling like herself. She was shaken up, her gut was invaded by a turmoil of emotions and she just didn't want to have any kind of conversation with her former lover.

No… she has invested a lot of her time trying to forget everything about him and she didn't want a relapse.

Feeling his hands grab her face so he could tilt her head up, Maryse opened her eyes and she immediately found his baby blue orbs scanning her features.

She had always loved those eyes and as she stood there looking deep into them, her mind went back to a time long ago where those eyes would search for hers whenever they would be in a room together.

Back to that time he just needed to lock his eyes to hers and even from a distance she would know that he wanted her to sneak away from everything so they could meet somewhere private.

"If not now then when?" He asked, his breath a soft caress against her skin. That was how close he was standing and in the back of her mind she knew she had to push him away…

Someone could see them and that wouldn't be good.

"Never; this thing between us is over and that's it. There's nothing to talk about here."

Moving his hands to the back of her head and burying his fingers into her hair, Ted snorted bitterly and lowered his face an inch closer to hers. "If it's over then why do you respond to me like this? Why do you tremble when I touch you and why do you kiss me when I kiss you? This isn't over… as long as you love me like you do, I can assure you that this will not be over."

Shaking her head but without pulling away from him, Maryse took in a deep long breath and armed herself with a determination she wasn't feeling.

"I don't love you… I never did." She said closing her eyes.

"That's bullshit." Ted said and by the tone of his voice she could tell that he was a hundred percent sure that she was lying through her teeth.

"You don't have to believe me; you just have to leave me alone."

Not minding her words, Ted lowered his lips and kissed her, pressing his mouth hard to hers for a few seconds before she pulled away. "Stop that."

Puffing out a breath, Ted dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Why are you so set on pushing me away just so you can stay with him? I just don't fucking get it." He said through clenched teeth and this time Maryse lifted her hands to his chest and pushed him away.

It was now or never and turning her detached mode on and getting ready to pull out her cold act, she shrugged indifferently.

"Because I love him; he's the one I've always loved and getting involved with you was a mistake."

"Don't say that…" Ted breathed out and Maryse didn't find it in herself to look up into his eyes; she just focused her gaze on a point right below his ears and flipping at her hair she went on.

"Well you wanted to know the truth so hear it Ted because this is the last time we will talk. When you and I started to work together, Mike and I were going through a rough time; I was bummed and I was attracted to you and one thing lead to the other but that was all, I never really loved you and you are stupid if you think I'll end what I have with the man I love so I can go with you."

Dropping his hands away from her, Ted pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue and chuckled. It was a bitter chuckle and blinking her eyes a couple of times, Maryse pursed her lips.

For a while the two of them remained like that; Ted looking down on her with something close to disbelieve written on his face and Maryse stubbornly standing there with her head held up high while her heart writhed and then died inside her chest.

The moment seemed to drag into eternity and when she was starting to think she couldn't stand it anymore, Ted turned his back on her and walked away. He didn't say anything… not that she has been expecting him to do so but still…

Closing her eyes and feeling that her hands were trembling more than ever, the blonde French-Canadian swallowed down the lump in her throat and turning around she began to walk once again.

She walked without paying attention to where she was going and when she found herself opening the door to her boyfriend's locker room she was actually surprised that she subconsciously headed there.

"Where were you?" Mike asked in his monotone tone of voice as soon as he saw her coming in.

Knowing that she couldn't walk out of that room without raising hell, Maryse closed the door and rolling her eyes she walked into the room and sat down in the leather sofa he had there.

"You know where I was." She said dryly, hoping that her voice wouldn't betray her. It didn't, her voice came out just fine and she was actually proud of herself.

Moving out of the place he has been standing when she walked in, Mike looked down on her and spoke reproachfully. "I don't get why you insist on using the Diva's locker room when you know you can use mine."

Rolling her eyes once again, Maryse decided not to respond. This was something they had argued many many times before and she wasn't in the mood to deal with another one of his talks.

It was always the same…

On his part, Mike just walked towards her and sat by her side, leaning closer to her until his face was inches away from hers.

For a wild moment, Maryse was sure that he was going to kiss her so she took in a deep breath and got mentally ready for it, even going as far as facing him so it would be easier for him to claim her lips; but when instead of pressing his lips to hers he took a handful of her hair and yanked hard, she had no option but to gasp in surprise and pain.

"Mike!" She complained, lifting her hand up and placing it on top of the closed fist that was unmercifully clutching at her hair. "You are hurting me."

"Divas' locker room, uh? Then why the fuck do you smell like men's cologne?" With that said, he got up to his feet and pulled her up by the hair. "You better fucking explain that to me. Now."

Blinking her eyes rapidly, Maryse gasped once again, thinking that if people would see her right in that moment, they wouldn't think she was the tough confident woman she liked to portray around. No, if they could see her they would know that she was weak… that he has made her so weak that she didn't even recognized herself anymore.

"That's Nikki's…" She lied, throwing out the first excuse she could come up with. "You know she wants to get back with Nick so she bought him this cologne and… she wanted me to tell her if it was good so I just… it's nothing, Mike… nothing."

With his eyes still blazing, Mike let go of her hair and pushed her back into the sofa. "You better be telling me the truth because you know what happens when you lie to me…" He said menacingly and Maryse nodded.

Yeah, she knew how he would get if he didn't like something she would say or if she would do something he considered suspicious like receiving phone calls from anyone or wanting to go out with her friends.

Ah, but it hadn't always been like that. Unbelievable enough, it all started when her affair with Ted has been at its peak; by then she and Mike where already on a shaky road and she was sure that she didn't love him at all. That was how it all started, one day after spending a whole week without seeing her sexy co-worker she found herself missing him like crazy and out of the blue told Mike that they should break up and keep going their separate ways.

She knew Ted was married and that breaking things with Mike was not going to change that, but back in that time she didn't care, she just wanted to walk away from Mike and that was it.

That was the first time he lost it and the worst night of them all; to that day she still cringed at the memory of all the things he did and said to her and now she always lived in fear that he would go crazy on her once again.

That's why she ended up things with Ted… because Mike turned into a full paranoid madman that menaced that if she even did as much as look in any other man's direction, he was going to end them both.

She believed him, after that night and the many that followed she believed he was capable of anything to keep her by his side and she would die before Mike could do something to Ted.

She would rather hurt him by saying that she didn't love him than risking Mike doing something to him with one of the guns he had home or even with the sharp little knife he kept by himself whenever they didn't have to take a plane.

"Good, now change that face because tonight I want to go to BOA and I don't want you to look as if you are about to cry." With that said, Mike turned around and headed into the bathroom.

Maryse watched him, her eyes clothing to slits and her head pounding at the abuse he inflicted by yanking her hair so hard.

Oh, but one day… one day she was going to leave all her fears behind and she was going to stand up to him. Who knew? Maybe that day was very near and the days where she would have to endure his abuses where numbered…

TBC?


	3. Chapter 3

"Ted, sweetie… don't you think that's enough? You are drunk."

Squinting his eyes and running the ball on his forefinger smoothly over the empty shot glass he just slammed to the counter, Ted Dibiase shook his head no and then shrugged.

No; it was enough. In his mind it wouldn't be enough until all his senses were numbed into a big pile of nothing and so far that hadn't happened. So far he was still feeling the effects of Maryse's sharp words like a knife to the heart and not even four shots of straight whiskey had been able to make the words sting less.

Who knew, maybe those words would always hurt and no amount of alcohol in the world was capable of deleting out of his brain what they really meant; but in that night he wanted to make them fade away and if it wasn't possible he wanted to pass out in the attempt.

"I want another one-" Ted said groggily to the bartender that just passed by at the other side of the bar, his tongue feeling heavy and his words coming out in a slur.

Complying to his request, the bartender poured more gold fiery liquid of Johnny Walker Black Label into his glass and without wasting a second, Ted gulped it down.

"Come on, let's go to the table or I'll make Cody come here and drag you out." Layla, the woman that was standing behind him said with a sigh while placing a hand gently to his shoulder.

Groaning but turning around on his bar stool to take a look at the petite English woman, Ted pursed his lips and sighed deeply. "You know something, Lay…" He said and tilting his head to the side for a moment, he thought about how to express what he wanted to say; but thinking in his state was futile and in his clouded mind he went on with whatever could spill out of his mouth. "Cody loves you. I know this because he's my best friend so you know, don't ever break his heart because it sucks and he wouldn't like it."

Humming, his best friend's girlfriend dragged her hand from his shoulder to his forearm and got a bit closer… just close enough so she could talk to him one on one.

"Is that what got you so bummed tonight, somebody broke your heart?"

Shrugging once again, Ted pursed his lips. "No… maybe. I mean it's…" Lifting a hand to his face and dragging it down, he groaned.

"It's complicated?" Lay said in her English accent and Ted thought that she talked cute; sure, it wasn't like when Maryse talked to him in her sexy Frech-Canadian accent but then again, Layla wasn't Maryse.

Layla was sweet and easy going while Maryse was more of a hard pill to swallow. She was the kind of person that you had to know first in order to like because the first impression that you would get out of her was that she was an arrogant bitch that would step over everyone to get where she wanted to be. That was the general consensus among more than one of her peers, that she was basically like the character she portrayed but with the volume a bit toned down.

That was what he thought of her at first too, but once they were put together in that fateful storyline he got to know her better and he learned that even though she was as cocky as they came, she wasn't a bitch per see.

Sure, she could pack an attitude from time to time and her obsession with fashion was a bit overwhelming; but overall she was good to be around. She had a weird sense of humor that edged in silliness, her laugh was contagious and well, with time he got sucked into her charm and that was it.

At first he didn't think much of it because he was married, she was with Mike and for that reason he saw the attraction he had for her as nothing more than a natural reaction of being working so close with such a beautiful woman.

So yeah, he liked her, he wasn't going to lie about it now; but back to those days he didn't have it in his plans to act on that attraction because that was plain and simply not his style.

But one good day they were booked to make a series of media appearances on their day off and after spending the entire day together, they ended up kissing.

It didn't go further than that, at least not at first. But after a week passed by they kissed again and the next day too and before he knew it, kissing while nobody was watching became something they would do constantly.

He knew it was wrong, but there was a certain thrill about it that he liked; then the kisses started to become more heated, a little touching was added into the mix and in less than two months they gave into whatever was happening between them and they ended up sleeping together.

But like he said, cheating on his wife and falling head over heels with Maryse wasn't something he had planned, it just happened at that was how his life started to crumble down all around him.

Now, already divorced and several months after that first kiss, he was sitting in a bar wondering if maybe he has been wrong about her and he was seeing good things were there were none.

"She doesn't love me, she never did. She told me that to my face."

And with those words she let him know that she basically used him; with those words she rubbed in his face that she lied to him when she told him that she loved him and that everything they lived together was an illusion that he was stupid enough to believe.

Closing his eyes and parting his lips to let out a sigh, the third generation superstar allowed his hands to fall back to his lap in defeat.

"And you know what the worst part here is? I love her… I would kill and die for her and she doesn't even care. I'm so stupid."

If only she would have kept on with her lie. But no, she decided to hit him where it hurt the most and now, hours after that he was still licking his wounds.

Snorting bitterly and turning around to order another whiskey, Ted blinked his eyes open and wondered how many more shots he needed to stop feeling altogether. "Bartender, give me another one, double."

"So is this all about Maryse?"

Turning back to Layla, Ted arched an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. How did she know? He has never told anyone about his thing with the blonde Diva, not even to Cody. "She told you?"

Smiling sweetly, Layla crossed her arms to her chest. "Of course not you silly; but you know, Cody once told me that he was almost a hundred percent sure that the two of you were somehow together and well, taking in consideration the way you are now and the fact that she keeps looking your way whenever she has the chance, I just assumed this has to do with something between you."

Shaking his head and his blue eyes moving through the locale, Ted tried to spot his former lover. He found her soon enough, she was sitting in one of the tables with her friends the Bella twins, Nick aka Dolph Ziggler and the woo woo woo guy himself, Zack Ryder, better known as Matt to those who knew him personally.

The only one missing was Mike and for a second he wondered where he was. But that was for a second, because the next thing he wondered was how was it that she was sitting there, looking so perfect and laughing as if she hadn't torn his heart in two that same day.

"She was looking at me?" He slurred, wanting to know because right in that moment she wasn't looking at him; what she was doing was having a good time in her table.

"Come on, let's find Cody and get out of here. You look like you need to breathe some fresh air."

Nodding, Ted got to his feet and put over the counter two twenties. It was more than enough to pay for his drinks plus a tip so he left it at that, but instead of following Layla, what he did was force his feet to the other direction and straight to Maryse's table.

"I want to talk to you." He spat, the tone of his voice making it obvious that he has been drinking.

"Who me?" Matt asked.

Ted didn't even mind him and when Nick said something he didn't mind him either. All his attention was focused on Maryse and on the way her warm hazel eyes grew ten times their size as she sent him a warning glare.

The blonde didn't say anything, in fact, after looking at him she turned her face away and pursed her lips. She was obviously trying to ignore him and that bothered Ted, a lot.

"Ted, don't be stupid now, let's get out of here." Layla said while grabbing him by the arm and trying to pull him out of that spot.

But Ted didn't move an inch. "I don't care that you don't love me, I…"

"Okay, that's enough." Layla said a bit more loudly as she grabbed Ted's chin to force his face to hers. "Let's just get out of here, now."

The group on the table said something and Ted blinked. He was now looking straight into Layla's eyes and for a moment he was very tempted to do as she said and walk out of there.

After all, Maryse told him everything she had to tell him already and he didn't know if he could take another stab to the heart. But as he considered between going out with Layla and staying there to talk his heart out, he spotted Maryse getting up to her feet and walking away with one of the twins.

"You better listen to shorty over there, Ted; get out of here."

That has been Nick and after sending him a quick glance, he willed his legs to move… after Maryse.

"Maryse… wait," He said once he was near enough she turned to him, fury in her eyes and her face flushed.

"Are you out of your mind?" She hissed and her voice was filled only with venom.

"Yes, I'm out of my mind and it's because of you!" He said reproachfully through clenched teeth at the same time that he wanted to grab her by the hair and kiss her until she would like him back.

Couldn't she see what she was doing to him? She was killing him slowly, his heart was bleeding to death and he didn't know what to do anymore. He was desperate.

"I don't want you to come near me ever again, I told you that already so have a little bit of dignity and leave me alone."

Blinking in stupefaction, Ted chuckled. How could she say that to him, to him of all people? "Dignity? How can you even… you know, fuck that and fuck you, Maryse." He growled and arching an eyebrow and nodding, she turned around.

The Bella twin followed her as she stormed out and for a second Ted just stood there, watching. When he reacted, he put his legs into motion once again and walked after her.

"Wait, wait… I didn't mean that." He said, grabbing her by the arm and making her turn back to him. "I'm sorry… I just want to talk to you, please…"

"You are drunk, Ted…" Maryse said looking up at him, her hazel eyes delving deep into his.

Having her like that, so close and looking so pretty made him want to reach for her and just hold her close. They had spent nights like that, just holding to one another while watching a movie or something and he missed that, he missed all of her.

"What's going on here?"

Snarling his lips, Ted looked up and saw Mike walking their way and wrapping an arm around Maryse's waist once he was near enough.

"Nothing," Maryse said coolly while her hand automatically went to rest over her boyfriend's forearm.

Ted watched that in silence, wanting nothing than to punch Mike and rip his arm away right in the spot.

"I wanted to go to the bathroom and I'm dragging Maryse with me, I promise I'll return her soon enough," The Bella said with a laugh while leaning against the loving couple.

"Ladies, they have to do anything in group." Mike said with a laugh, locking his eyes with Ted and taking his arm from Maryse but grabbing her by the hand. Once that was done, he walked towards Ted and shrugged. "Come on, I'll walk you to the door of the bathroom… "Ah, by the way, I like that cologne, Ted. You need to tell Maryse what it's called so she can get it for me." With that said, he pursed his lips, turned around and walked away from him.

Defeated, bummed and more than a little drunk, Ted stood there for a while. He could feel Lay grabbing his hand and trying to move him and he could hear her saying something; but even if he was half aware of her presence, his mind was stuck in Maryse… a woman that many times has been his but that now was nothing but a nice memory of something that never was…


	4. Chapter 4

Closing the door of the bathroom and turning gracefully on her heels so she could take a look at her French-Canadian friend, Brie Bella smiled a sly smile that spoke volumes of what was going on through her mind as she placed both her hands against her hips. "Okay, you need to tell me what's going on between you and Ted."

Pacing back and forth in her Louboutins pumps and not minding at all her fellow Diva's words, Maryse ran the perfectly manicured fingers of her right hand through her long hair and closed her eyes, inhaling a deep long breath that was supposed to calm her down.

It didn't work, and while Brie stared at her through amused suspecting eyes, all that Maryse could do was getting lost in her thoughts.

Ted… what the hell was he thinking?

Did he lose his mind all of a sudden? How could he walk to her while she was with her friends to tell her those things? God!

And Mike, somehow Mike spotted her talking to him and as always, he came running to make sure she wouldn't speak to anyone that wasn't approved by him. But that was not the worse part, she was used to her boyfriend nosing into her conversations but now… now he traced the cologne he smelled out of her earlier that day back to Ted and that wasn't good… at all.

"I need to get out of here." She said finally while opening her eyes. Her tone was barely above a low whisper and as her eyes scanned the fancy bathroom of the club she was that night she started to feel desperation eating a hole through her.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for, a window, another door, a bat… anything that could help her escape whatever Mike's fury.

Ted… why did he have to open his mouth and ruin everything?

For months they were able to keep their relationship a secret and now that they weren't together anymore, he came and changed that!

Her friends back at the table definitely saw something was going on, by the look on Brie's eyes she knew her mind was running wild and Mike… Mike was going to kill her.

"Maryse," Brie said while grabbing her by the shoulders to make her halt on her tracks. "Relax, breathe and tell me what's going on."

Blinking her eyes slowly and making a big drama of taking in a deep breath, the blonde French-Canadian threw her head back and then blew her breath through her mouth. "I'm so dead Brie!"

She exclaimed before hiding her face behind her hands.

"Mike is going to kill me, I know it!"

"Okay, wait a moment here." Brie chuckled. "I have a few drinks so maybe I'm imagining things that are not there… but did you and Ted had something? And mind me, but when I asked that question I totally meant to ask if you two are sleeping together."

Lowering her face so she could look at her smiling friend, Maryse pouted her lips and shrugged. "No. I'm not sleeping with Ted… at least not for the past three months or so..."

There, she said it out loud.

"Ha, I knew it! I've seen the way he looks at you and Nikki always said he had the hots for you but I never… Jesus, Maryse… you are such a slut!" Brie laughed, apparently finding the fact that her friend admitted such a thing to be a theme to celebrate.

"Don't laugh about it, Brie. Mike threw a comment out there that let me know that he knows about it too and as soon as I walk out of this bathroom he's going to kill me." Maryse said, her brows furrowing and her face showing nothing but blind concern.

Brie saw this and reaching for one of the blonde's hand to take it in hers, she quirked her lips. The hand was cold and rubbing it to generate some warm she breathed out. "I don't think Mike is going to kill you, Ryse. I mean yeah, if he knows about you and Ted he'll probably be upset, but he will never…"

"No Brie-" Maryse blurted out, cutting her friend off while her eyes shifted to the door. "You don't know Mike like I do, he's going to get crazy and I don't even what to imagine what he'll do to me."

For a while Brie said nothing, she just saw Maryse wipe at her eyes with the back of her palm and she knew there was something very wrong going on.

She didn't know Maryse to be the kind of woman who got scared easily and right in that moment, she seemed scared out of her mind. True, it was also known that the blonde was a bit over dramatic so maybe she was drowning herself in a glass of water.

But no… the look in her eyes seemed too raw to be anything but genuine. "You are scaring me, Ryse."

"I'm scared myself." She admitted, blinking rapidly.

"Alright, listen to me. We are going to walk out of this bathroom together and we'll go straight to Nick and Matt. Mike won't dare doing anything to you because we are in a public place and he won't risk it. I'll ask the guys to get us out of here and we'll pick your things from the hotel room, if Mike comes by you'll tell him to fuck off. You don't have to put up with him if you don't want to."

"Okay." Maryse nodded, but she didn't look too convinced.

But that didn't matter; yeah, Brie was sure that the terror Maryse seemed to feel for her boyfriend couldn't be unfounded and that if she was scared, it was because Mike has done things to her already. That seemed hard to believe, not because Mike didn't have the type, but because she always saw Maryse as someone who wouldn't take shit from anyone, let alone from a man.

But that was going to end, once Maryse was out his control she was going to go back to her regular self and when realizing what Mike put her through, she was going to walk to him and slap the taste out of his mouth while telling him a thing or two that would put him in place.

That was the Maryse she knew and the one she wanted to see.

"Come on, I'll be with you, okay?"

Nodding once again, Maryse felt her friend pull at her hand and as if she was living a dream, she began to walk to the door, watching as Brie opened it to reveal that Mike was standing there, waiting for her.

"Come on, we're going to get out of here." The man said in an eerie tone of voice and instead of getting scared, Maryse got angry.

Brie was right; she didn't have to put up with an abusive Mike. He wasn't the boss of her and she wasn't going to keep acting like he owned her. If he didn't like it, he would have to deal with it and if he dared once again to touch her, she was going to put him behind bars.

His abuses were going to end right there.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Don't be ridiculous, you and I have a talk pending." He said, his eyes getting that glint he would always get when getting angry at her.

Rolling her eyes, Maryse put her legs into motion and clutching Brie's hand, she attempted to walk pass him; but before she could do such a thing, Mike place his hand to her neck and with a swift motion, he pushed her back into the bathroom.

"Hey, don't you dare touching her like that!" Brie yelled as Maryse stumbled backwards.

Mike didn't even mind the other woman and he walked into the bathroom after Maryse.

On her part, the blonde's eyes got wide and wild and she darted forward, her hand flying to his face and hitting him across the cheek. It was the first time she stood up to him and it felt sooo good. "Touch me again and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Really, and what will you do? Call your drunk lover-boy to save the day for you?" He hissed through clenched teeth, his face flushed with repressed ire.

"Maybe I will, he'll kill you if he knows you…"

Before she could finish, Mike turned around quickly and without giving any of the women time to react, he punched Brie right in the face.

Maryse saw it happen in slow motion, Mike connecting his fist to the woman's jaw and then Brie falling to the ground, knocked out cold.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled, rushing to her friend to help her out. "Are you out of your mind?"

But… before she could reach her friend or even take hold of her phone to call some help, Mike grabbed her by the arm with an iron clad grip and pulled her to him. "Come on Maryse, you and I will get out of here, now."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Ted, come on man… wake up."

Grunting and getting annoyed at Cody for shaking him while he was trying to sleep, Ted buried his face deeper into the blankets Layla gave him the previous night before he passed out on hers and Cody's hotel couch and wrinkled his nose.

"Ted… I'm not kidding, this is serious."

"Give me one more minute." He grumbled without moving. Why couldn't Cody understand that he didn't want to wake up, what he wanted was to sleep the day away and why not? Wake up when it was late at night.

Besides, his voice was giving him a headache and he would appreciate if he would just shut up.

"He's not waking up." Cody said and Ted thought that he heard him moving away from the couch.

Perfect.

Breathing in and snuggling to a pillow, the Third generation superstar's mind started to drift off to sleep once again when he felt someone shaking him again.

"What now?" He asked groggily and annoyed.

"Ted, it's Maryse…" He heard Layla's voice saying and at the mention of that name immediately sat up and rubbed his face.

The motion made him feel a little dizzy but that didn't matter right now. "Maryse?" Was she there? Did she want to talk to him?

"Listen…" Layla said tenderly and even in his clouded mind he took notice of the way she took his hand and squeezed it in hers. "Something happened."

Blinking stupidly, Ted looked up to Cody. His friend was just there, standing under the doorframe of the bedroom door while staring down to her shoes. "To Maryse?"

No…

Taking in a deep breath, Layla shrugged. "There was some kind of altercation at the club… between Maryse and Mike. I don't know exactly what happened but Mike attacked Brie Bella and took Maryse with him."

"What?" Ted asked in a gasp, his brain trying to absorb all the information.

"They found Brie knocked out in the bathroom and she was taken to the hospital; she's okay now and she pressed some charges against Mike. The police began looking for him without luck, but a couple of hours later he answered his phone to JoMo and told him where he was."

Through darkening eyes, Ted looked from Cody to Layla, not liking one bit the somber look in their faces. "Where's Maryse?" He asked in a low breath, his chest getting tighter and his throat feeling dry.

"She's missing; no one knows where she is and Mike is not telling… but Brie says that before Mike attacked her, Maryse told her she was afraid that he could kill her."

Hearing the words but not quite believing them, Ted got to his feet and clenching his jaw until it hurt, he headed straight to the door.

"Ted, where are you going?"

Turning around, Ted snorted bitterly. "What do you mean with where I'm a going? I'm going to get that son of a bitch and I'm going to beat him until he tells me where is Maryse. Then I'm going to fucking kill him."

"No, no… he's already under police custody and he's still not talking." Cody said. "But Ted, I talked to John just now and he says that he didn't recognize Mike… he says he was all crazy and… he's almost sure that… that he killed her…"

TBC…

Okay, so this chapter was awful to write! I'm just not good with so much stuff going on in my fics, I can write forever about feelings and thoughts but I suck at writing action and dialogue! Argh, but this was very much needed to keep the story going and now that it's done I hope things get better ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** This was supposed to be the last chapter, but things don't always go the way I plan them and it got extended to at least one more chapter. I hope you enjoy ;)

**One And Only**

The first time he kissed Maryse, she guffawed. It hadn't been in a burlesque kind of way and knowing how she was, he has now sure that she did it on an impulse and probably out of awkwardness; but going back in memory lane, Ted remembered that back to that night he has been a bit puzzled by her reaction.

After all it wasn't flattering to any man if a woman guffawed after sharing a first kiss so unable to help it, he asked her what was so funny.

Once she was in more control of herself she just flipped at her hair and told him that there wasn't anything funny. After that the elevator stopped at her floor and after flashing him a big smile full of promises, she walked out… leaving him back there while his own lips started to curve into a smile.

Still to that day, Ted wasn't sure what made him give into the impulse of kissing her. They were just in the elevator talking and he thought that she looked stunning.

Not that in other occasions she looked less than stunning, but that night was different.

Her hair was perfectly cascading dawn her back in soft platinum waves, her features were highlighted with a touch of make-up, her dress was embracing all her curves like a second skin and the ridiculous high heels that she was wearing accentuated her toned legs perfectly.

She looked like any man's dream come true. But it wasn't all in her appearances though; it was all in the small details.

It has been her eyes what really got him, there was a special glint on those expressive hazel orbs that caught him off-guard and entranced him… and her lips, he remembered as if it was yesterday, they just seemed too inviting.

So, before he could think on it twice, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It has been something brief, just two sets of lips pressing together while adding the slightest pressure… at least until she pulled away to well, guffaw at his efforts.

It has been wrong and once he closed the door to his own room, the big goofy grin in his face died as he thought about his wife and he promised himself that something like that couldn't happen again.

With that in mind, the following day he apologized to Maryse; he blamed it all on the two of them being tired and it was left at that… for about a week, because that was the amount of time it took him to kiss her again.

That second kiss has been so much more than the first. The two of them were scheduled to work both Raw and Smackdown so as they has done many times before, they ended up traveling together.

He behaved during that whole day, but when the show was over he promised to drop her at the airport and that's when he kissed her again.

For that one he didn't have an excuse either, he just found himself kissing her while they were still in the car and because she responded him in kind, he deepened the kiss and made the best out of it.

After that the kisses started to become more regular and all talk about their significant others faded away completely. When they meet it was time for the two of them and no one else.

That was how their affair began and even though it shamed him to admit so, that was how he started to fall head over hills for someone other than his wife.

But it was just that she was perfect, he loved everything about her and as time started to pass by he realized that she was the one he wanted to be with.

She knew he felt like that, and he knew that he was the one she wanted as well. But they were too messed up and like his mother always told him, nothing that starts the wrong way can end the right way.

That was probably why he accepted breaking things up; he had a commitment with his wife and deep inside he knew that he had to respond to her. Besides, for the last weeks of their relationship, Maryse seemed distracted and even distant so he assumed she was having the same thoughts; his suspicious were confirmed when one fateful night she told him they shouldn't see each other anymore.

He agreed because it was the right thing to do but with time he realized that breaking things up has been the worse decision he ever made, because as much as he tried to fix things back home it didn't work out because his wife plain and simply wasn't Maryse.

Now there was a chance that Maryse was going to be no more and the thought of that was slowly killing him inside.

Just to think that something happened to her was making him go crazy and he has been in the verge of giving way to the pangs of despairs. It was just so easy to let his imagination run wild with different scenarios…

After he received the news of her disappearances, something in his gut told him that the worse happened. He hated that thought and he has done everything in his power to find her.

He went to the police station but he wasn't allowed to talk with Mike; thing that ended up being a good thing because he was sure that if he saw the man's face, he was going to kill him with his own hands and that wouldn't do any good to the situation.

So walking out of there he went to see Brie and the ugly bruise that ran from her jaw and up to her cheek was a silent statement of Maryse's fate. He hated that visit and when he couldn't get anything useful out of the young woman, he left and turned to the man that found Mike, JoMo.

That has been a little over one hour ago and the talk he had with him has been a bit more useful. According to the man, as soon as he heard what happened he started calling Mike and it wasn't after more than twenty calls that he answered.

Mike wasn't saying anything about Maryse but he told him where he was, and when John found him he was sure that he did something awful.

He knew because of Mike's blank attitude and most importantly, a few traces of blood he had in his clothes. He called the police and the rest was history.

Now, the news about what happened spread like fire around his co-workers and according to Cody, everyone was afraid that Mike pulled a Benoit and that he just went crazy.

That was the speculation and talk was that Vince was calling already that this was going to be a hard blow to the WWE.

Ted didn't care about the bad press this could bring to them, the only thing that he wanted was to find Maryse, alive.

That was how he ended up there, walking through the woods with a heavy veil of rain falling punishingly over him.

If the police would be more efficient in their job, they would be doing this themselves, but because they were not driven with desperation and because they didn't find every minute to be crucial, they were putting all their efforts in interrogating Mike instead.

Blinking the icy-cold water of the rain out of his eyes, Ted clenched his jaw as hard as he could and continued looking. If they wouldn't go out there to find her, he decided that he was going to do it himself.

And because John said he found Mike a few miles away from the woods and his car was found parked very near, Ted was sure that if Maryse was somewhere, it was in those woods.

It was only a matter of finding her.

Cody and John were helping him in his search and they were somewhere around looking as well. They had been at it for a while and he was starting to get desperate.

What if he buried her? What if he killed her and threw her somewhere around as if she was nothing more than garbage?

By God that if he did any of those he was going to burst into that police station and kill him. And if anyone got in his way he was going to kill them too.

Deep inside he knew those were dark thoughts and that he should erase them from his mind. But he couldn't, he just couldn't…

"Ted!"

Tilting his head to the sound of John's voice, Ted swallowed hard and froze. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, his stomach turned into a knot and his breathing ceased for a few seconds.

"Ted, she's here…"

And that was all he needed to hear to react and start running toward his voice. He ran blindly, his mind repeating a litany over and over again…

'Please God, let her be alive. Please, God…'

To him it felt like he ran forever, the rain wasn't letting him see the path ahead of him with clarity and it wasn't until he was a few steps away from them that he saw them.

"I found her…" John said and feeling his heart shrinking, Ted halted and saw that he was kneeling and holding Maryse in his arms.

She wasn't responding; her eyes were closed, there were a few bruises on her neck and arms and her dress was riding high to her hips. She seemed to pale, there was blood and mud clinging to her skin and hair and she was barefoot.

It was almost as if she was…

"No…" Running the rest of the way, Ted basically pushed John away and got down to his knees to take her in his arms.

John let him do it and he even said something about calling someone… probably the police or an ambulance.

"Maryse…" He whispered, bringing her closer so he could press his fingers to her throat.

He didn't know much about those things, but he immediately started to start feeling around for a pulse that he never found.

"Come on, don't do this to me…" He said, his hands moving to her face and feeling that she was too cold. It was probably because of the rain but that didn't give hope to his heart.

In the background he could listen to John and now Cody talking to him and one of them even went as far as touching his shoulder. He didn't know who it was but she elbowed him away and went back into searching for a pulse.

"Please God…" He mumbled, brushing her hair out of her face with one hand and then pulling her dress down.

"Ted…"

"Shhh." Shaking his head before listening to whatever they were going to tell him, Ted pulled Maryse closer to him and placed a hand over her chest.

Holding his breath, he left the hand there while his eyes drank on the image of her face. She looked as if she was sleeping… so peacefully.

"Come on Ryse," He said, barely realizing that he choked on the words.

And then, so very faintly, he felt her heart beating. It was almost imperceptible and at first he thought he imagined it, but then he felt it again and gathering in his arms, he got to his feet.

"Is she…?" Cody began to ask and Ted shook his head and started walking as fast as he could.

He didn't know the way but he had to move as fast as he could. "She's alive… I have to take her into an hospital."


	6. Chapter 6

XxXxXxXxX

_She was floating. Her body seemed to have lost all the weight it has once carried and it was now floating brokenly; floating in the air… floating through space… floating everywhere._

_She liked it when she was floating, in this newly found state of elevation her mere mortal flesh couldn't be mortified with pain and her soul couldn't be bothered by being scared… she just floated and floated without a definite course._

_Sometimes while she was moving at great speed through the air she would hear voices, they echoed all around her; eternally soft and carrying a deep sorrow she couldn't quite comprehend._

_All the voices were oddly familiar and sometimes she felt like discontinuing floating so she could walk to them, so she could answer their call; but doing that meant that she would start feeling again and she didn't want that… no, not at all._

_Just to think about it provoked a chill to run through her broken body and she would suddenly start to feel a severe cold that burned down to her bones. It was almost like being back there in the dark cold, bleeding and hurting and that wouldn't do._

_No, floating was so much better and if she could, she would float forever…_

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Do you want to talk about it?

Shaking his head and refusing to lift his face from the palms of both his hands, Ted groaned under his breath something along the lines that he was fine and left it there.

He didn't want to talk about it and he didn't think he needed to elaborate on a reason why; what he wanted was to be left alone.

His wish had been granted for at least half an hour and he took that precious time to let his brain work in overdrive, elaborating on all the scenarios that Maryse could have lived in the past twenty-four hours or so, studying and analyzing them.

It was easy, the mind was an amazing thing and as it turned out, in times of despair it could come up with some macabre thoughts that could made the toughest of toughest tremble.

The doctors first report on Maryse's condition didn't help his wandering mind; two fractured ribs, multiple lacerations on her arms, face and back, abrasions in her neck that only meant she was strangled and the worse of all, a bad case of hypothermia that was developed after she was left in the woods unconscious.

The last one was the one the doctors feared the most. Ted couldn't remember the specific details but they said something about her body temperatures getting so low that they decreased cellular activity in her body and ultimately it could lead her to suffer a brain death.

That was why he had barely found a pulse on her back in the woods… because she barely had one.

"Did the results come back already?"

Clearing his throat and finally lifting his face up, Ted looked at his friend Cody through eyes that felt heavy and sensitive. He was just there, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but there and asking him that.

"Which one?" He asked, his voice just a raspy whisper.

Cody scratched his head and looked everywhere but to Ted. "You know… both."

Clenching his jaw, Ted inhaled deeply. "Well, the neurologist did the test but they are still waiting on the results. Either way, they need to do two of those tests by two different neurologists and with at least a day apart… just to make sure."

Yup, that much he was sure. A hospital wouldn't declare a patient brain dead until they were a hundred percent sure and even if she was… dead, they all needed to wait on her family to know how to proceed.

They were already on their way according to Natalya, just a sister and a brother though because her parents were trying to get the papers to legally enter the country.

"As for the other one… it came back negative. There is no physical evidence that she was sexually assaulted." And God, little as it was that has been a weigh lifted off from his shoulders.

It was bad already that he had to imagine everything that Maryse went through to add to that being raped by that good for nothing piece of trash.

If it would have come back positive, Ted would have gone straight to that police station to kill Mike with his own two hands. Yeah, he would end up taken into custody and they would probably put him behind bars for murder; but he was almost in a point where he didn't care.

He just needed to release the anger and frustration that was eating him inside out and the only way he could do that was getting his hands on Mike and unfortunately, chances of that happening were basically zero.

God helped him, but that was the only way he could relieve the tumult of emotions raging inside of him.

"You know, I won't even pretend to know how you are feeling. I only know that if anyone would do to Lay what he did to Maryse, I would be out of my mind."

Pursing his lips and moving his eyes to the wall in front of him, Ted swallowed hard down. "Trust me, out of your mind is little compared to this." After saying that he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "It's just… if I wouldn't have gone to her at the club this wouldn't be happening right now. She would be fine and smiling and not laying in that bed…"

"Ted, this is not your fault. You were there when Brie said what happened and according to her this wasn't the first time Mike put his hands on Maryse… you can't blame yourself for this."

"No, it is my fault… and I should have known what was going on… I should have known but I didn't… I couldn't even keep her safe."

Before Cody could respond to that, someone started to call Ted's name out loud and when he looked up he saw Nikki running towards him. He knew it was Nikki because Brie, the other one had an ugly bruise in her face that distinguished her away from her twin.

"Ted, Ted!"

"What is it?" He said a bit alarmed as he got up to his feet. "Is it Maryse?"

Still running to him and throwing her hands around his neck once she was in front of him, the black haired Diva let out a sob that didn't help his worry.

"What happened?" He asked in a whisper as the woman hung from his neck, but he was not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Yeah, from his affair with Maryse being a top guarded secret, everyone knew about it now and he was the one people came to when they wanted to know about the French Canadian.

"The results came back and the doctor said she has brain activity. Ted, she is not dead!"

Blowing out a breath of relief and automatically resting his hand on top of Nikki's head, Ted closed his eyes and mumbled a huge thank to the Lord above. He has been almost prepared to receive the worst news he could ever hear and that he didn't was making him feel as if his heart was beating with renewed forces.

"I want to see her." He said and Maryse's friend pulled away from him.

"Yeah, go and see her. I'm going to call the others to tell them." She said, wiping at the tears in her eyes.

Moving as if he was walking in a dream and with Cody's voice telling him something from behind, Ted made it to his former lover's room and took a long look at her.

She was just like he left her, laying unconsciously in her hospital bed while numerous machines connected to her body beeped continuously.

If he didn't know any better and if he turned a deaf ear to those beeps, he could imagine that she was peacefully sleeping; but the bruises in her face and the dark marks imprinted in her neck were a silent reminder of the hell she has gone through.

But God, she was alive and that was all that mattered.

Walking to her and sitting by her side, Ted grabbed her limp hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss it. Once that was done he intertwined his fingers with hers and gave her a light squeeze.

"Ryse, I don't know if you can hear me… but it case you do I just want to tell you that I love you."

Maryse didn't respond nor did she move by his words.

"Do you remember first time I told you that? We were stuck in Newark with that huge storm that paralyzed all the flights from leaving the airport and you were getting impatient. I mean no major shopping to do, no spas or beauty salons to go and a lot of time to kill. You hated it there, but I loved it. I had you all by myself and going around town just to catch a movie in the theaters felt like heaven to me."

Still no response.

"I told you after the movie, it was just us walking down the street and God, you looked so beautiful smiling and looking at me in that way you had that I had to tell you. I've loved you since then, maybe even since before… and not even a single day has passed without me feeling like that."

Using his other hand to run it through her hair, Ted looked at her face. There was no perceptible change in her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even… but then, when he was going to keep talking he felt it, an almost imperceptible squeeze to his hand.

Opening his eyes as big as he could, Ted gulped down. Did he imagine that?

"Maryse… can you hear me?"

For a while there was nothing and he was starting to feel sure that he did imagine it; but then he felt it again and when he looked down she was indeed squeezing his hand… she was responding to him…

TBC


End file.
